With the aim of identifying successful case studies that could serve for other countries as a reference in their fight against rabies, WSPA Brazil has developed two videos with the statements of three Brazilian specialists, who report on how Brazil has been tackling the rabies issue in the last decades.

The videos below provide the general public and health professionals with actions taken by the Brazilian government to fight rabies, in addition to some recommendations that can help to control the disease respecting animal welfare.

Flávia Ribeiro, Communications Manager at WSPA Brazil, travelled to Brasília and met Eduardo Caldas, coordinator of the Technical Unit of Zoonosis Surveillance of the Ministry of Health. Marco Antonio Vigilato, specialist in Veterinary Public Health (Panaftosa) of the Pan-American Health Organization, and Neide Takaoka, director of the Pasteur Institute.

Their statements clearly demonstrated how the country has been seeking solutions to control this zoonosis that still affects thousands of dogs in many parts of the worldBrazil’s National Rabies Management Program, under the responsibility of the Ministry of Health, started officially in 1973, i.e., nearly 40 years ago. According to Eduardo Caldas, the country’s policies on zoonosis surveillance will be redefined. “The Ministry of Health is now revising these policies and elaborating a new proposal to restructure all zoonosis surveillance activities, including rabies and leishmaniasis. Such a redefinition of guidelines will be executed in cooperation with the Municipal Department of Health and representatives of the National Council of Health Departments and the National Council of Municipal Health Departments”, affirms Caldas.

According to Vigilato, “Brazil took the lead in promoting mass vaccination campaigns and was successful”. And he added, “In many cities, a considerable number of dogs and other animals were infected by rabies, which also affected people. Mass vaccination schemes for dogs were very effective and successfully applied in big capital cities, such as Lima, Buenos Aires and Montevideo, and, in case of Brazil, in big cities, for example São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Campinas”. Vigilato also stresses that “this was a great contribution from Brazil to Latin America”.